The logos and names on the front of the jerseys are pretty much the same: Six of the eight teams entering baseball's playoffs today are making return engagements from a year ago.

Hudson joined a long list of Braves starting pitchers that have led the team to 14 consecutive division titles.

By John Bazemore, AP

But look further, to the names on the backs of the jerseys, and you'll find they're not the same teams. Each of the playoff returnees had to reconfigure important pieces of the club to earn an October sequel.

Changing face of contenders

Six of this season's eight playoff teams are repeat qualifiers from 2004, even though all endured substantial roster changes. A look at who came, who went and how the moves turned out:

Atlanta Braves Who's gone: RHPs Russ Ortiz, Jaret Wright, Paul Byrd and Juan Cruz, LF Charles Thomas, RF J.D. Drew. Who arrived: RHPs Tim Hudson, Jorge Sosa and Dan Kolb, LF Brian Jordan, RF Raul Mondesi. How it turned out: Solid. Hudson, acquired from the Oakland Athletics, went 14-9, while Thomas and Cruz struggled in Oakland. Sosa went 13-3 with a 2.55 ERA. Kolb didn't work out as closer, but John Smoltz returned to the rotation and won 14 games. Jeff Francoeur and Ryan Langerhans stepped in when Jordan and Mondesi got hurt.

How it turned out: Solid. Eckstein and Grudzielanek each hit .294, Mulder won 16 games and Yadier Molina was a capable replacement for Matheny, who signed a $10.5 million deal with the San Francisco Giants.

Of the six, only the Los Angeles Angels — who changed their city name — won more games than last year, 95 compared with 92 in 2004. But no one has done it better than the St. Louis Cardinals, the National League champions a year ago.

The Cardinals made over the middle of their infield, changed catchers and a chunk of their pitching staff to record the best record — 100 wins — for the second consecutive year.

• The New York Yankees overhauled three-fifths of their starting rotation, not counting the loss of injured Kevin Brown; the Angels reconfigured the left side of their infield, traded outfielder Jose Guillen and let closer Troy Percival leave.

The turnover is a reflection of the state of the game: Successful teams have successful players who look for bigger contracts through free agency or arbitration. The era of a team retaining the majority of its core for an extended run is as dated as the Sunday doubleheader.

"If you return a lot of the strong nucleus, year to year, for two or three years, I think that'd be an exception," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa says. "There's too many free agents, there are times money forces you to make decisions to not tender (contracts to) guys who all of a sudden become too expensive. You're trying to prioritize how to spend your money, and everybody faces it."

After winning 105 games and the NL pennant a year ago, the Cardinals were forced to do more than just fine-tuning this season. Shortstop Edgar Renteria and catcher Mike Matheny, longtime contributors, left as free agents, along with second baseman Tony Womack. Add in the injury losses of All-Star third baseman Scott Rolen and outfielder Reggie Sanders for 54 games, and it's remarkable the Cardinals achieved another 100-win season.

"The club has been fun to watch because we've lost quite a bit of our extra-base thump," La Russa says. "But the guys that have played have been really good handling the bat and playing the game.

"I would think the biggest misconception about our club was we have this powerhouse offensive team."

A season-ending shoulder injury limited Rolen to 56 games, outfielder Larry Walker has been hampered by a herniated disk in his neck and outfielder Jim Edmonds has dipped a bit from his career-high run-production numbers of last year.

But new shortstop David Eckstein and second baseman Mark Grudzielanek have chipped in, ranking third and fourth on the team, respectively, in RBI (61 and 59) behind MVP contender Pujols (117) and Edmonds (89). La Russa never had any questions about their defense.

"I said (in spring training) we were going to play as well defensively. All you had to do was watch them," La Russa says. "We've defended the hell out if it."

The Cardinals' pitching is stronger this year, the best in the NL. They rank No. 1 overall with a 3.49 earned run average, and their bullpen also leads the league with a 3.17 ERA. The rotation enters stronger than a year ago with the additions of Cy Young Award candidate Chris Carpenter (21-5, 2.83 ERA), who was sidelined with an arm injury in September 2004, and Mark Mulder (16-8, 3.64 ERA), acquired in an offseason trade with the Oakland Athletics.

Houston's relaunch

The Astros took the Cardinals to seven games in the NL Championship Series last year, and few experts would be surprised if they repeated the challenge.

Houston also was able to retain the bulk of its rotation — and starter Andy Pettitte is healthy this year — but the lineup misses Beltran and Kent. First baseman Jeff Bagwell missed 115 games after shoulder surgery.

"Some days, it's a real challenge to get the offense going," says Craig Biggio, who moved back to second base this year. "Our game relies on pitching, defense and timely hitting."

Turn the key

In the American League, the Angels' changes have made the biggest difference, and one player is the key — shortstop Cabrera. Though he hit just .257, he has played a large role in the team's tight defense, which helped Los Angeles' pitching staff register a 3.68 ERA, third best in the AL.

"It's had a huge impact. He's such a dominating defensive player," says Angels starter Jarrod Washburn (8-8, 3.20 ERA). "He seems to make every single play that comes his way, plus ones that most people don't make.

By Adrian Wyld, AP

The Yankees are counting on the irascible Randy Johnson, who was 5-0 against the Red Sox in the regular season, to carry them through the playoffs.

"Our pitching staff has been pitching very well, and a big reason for that is because of the defense our team's playing behind us."

The Angels had hoped to replace third baseman Troy Glaus with prospect Dallas McPherson, but a hip injury limited him to 61 games. And free agent center fielder Steve Finley had a poor season, prompting the move of Chone Figgins to the outfield against left-handers. But one other move did work out — clearing the closer's spot for Francisco Rodriguez, who has 45 saves.

With solid starting pitching, a strong bullpen, defense and offensive balance, the Angels are a team no one wants to face in the postseason.

The most expensive remodeling job came in New York, where the Yankees' shopping spree for starting pitching landed Randy Johnson, Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright. Johnson had an up-and-down year but finished 4-0 with a 2.48 ERA in September to bolster the Yankees' playoff run in the most tumultuous season of manager Joe Torre's tenure.

"This was the best of all of them," Torre said after the Yankees clinched their eighth consecutive division title. "The first is always memorable. But this has to be the most special because of everything that went on this year."

The Red Sox's pitching changes will be in the forefront right away —Matt Clement and David Wells are expected to start the first two games of the series against the Chicago White Sox.

"Both of these teams went through a lot this year," Curt Schilling said of the two AL East rivals. "To be where we are says as much about the people as it does about the talent."